


Bad to Worse

by Telara



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Case Fic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotionally Hurt Castiel (Supernatural), Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Castiel, John Comes Back, John Winchester Being an Asshole, M/M, Post-Episode: s13e18 Bring 'em Back Alive, Protective Dean Winchester, Protective Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-26 12:22:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14402061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Telara/pseuds/Telara
Summary: After the unfortunate incident with Gabriel, Team Free Will go on a hunt involving multiple missing people in a short amount of time. It turns out to be anything but standard.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I love the 'John comes back and hates Cas' trope, it was inevitable that I'd try my hand at writing it (although he doesn't come back in this chapter yet).  
> Why is it set after 13x18? Good question. Anyway, enjoy. :)

Castiel had been sitting on his bed for…he actually couldn’t remember anymore. He’d been so lost in thought since Dean had… _kissed_ him. Dean had kissed him. That was still so surreal to think about.

After what had happened with Gabriel, Castiel had retreated into his room feeling sad and guilty. He had still been angry with Dean for not even calling him before going into another universe with Ketch of all people, but the angel had been mostly just feeling bad about disappointing Dean again. It seemed that was the only thing he was good at.

And then Dean had knocked on his door.

_“Hey, Cas,” said Dean softly, taking a few hesitant steps into the room. Castiel nodded at him, not getting up. Even though it didn’t seem like it would happen, he was expecting Dean to yell at him. Not like he wouldn’t deserve it, but if Dean did yell at him, Castiel doubted he’d be able to not yell back._

_"Look, the thing with Gabriel’s grace…” Dean started, and Castiel sighed. Great, Dean wasn’t going to yell at him for being stupid, he would give him a lecture instead. “I get it, alright?”_

_Castiel froze, and then turned to look at Dean with disbelief. Dean sat down next to Castiel and put a hand on his shoulder. “You wanted to help your brother get better. And you thought he’d help us in return. Not your fault Gabriel’s a dick.”_

_Castiel let out a small humorless laugh. The angel was still angry with his brother – furious even – but on some level he did understand why Gabriel had left as soon as he’d killed Asmodeus. That didn’t mean that they wouldn’t look for him, of course – they still needed archangel grace, and convincing Gabriel to give them some of his sounded infinitely easier than getting it from Lucifer._

_“Why didn’t you at least call me?” Castiel asked, swallowing and looking over at Dean. Despite not giving the hunter much information as to what Castiel was talking about, Dean seemed to understand perfectly. He removed his hand from Castiel’s shoulder and sighed._

_“I didn’t want you anywhere near that place, okay?” Dean blurted out. “The last time that happened, Lucifer…” Dean trailed off, running a hand through his hair._

_“Killed me,” Castiel finished for him, keeping his voice as neutral as possible. Dean nodded, avoiding Castiel’s gaze._

_“After that, I was...” Dean paused again. “I don’t think I’d survive you dying again.”_

_While Castiel wanted to assure him that he wouldn’t die again, he also couldn’t help but feel annoyed with the hunter. “And you think I could just get over_ your _death? Do you not realize how worried I was when I found out you went to that world alone?”_

_“Ketch went with me,” Dean muttered, and Castiel rolled his eyes._

_“That doesn’t make it better.”_

_“Yeah, it kinda does. I didn’t have to keep making sure that he wasn’t injured or dead.”_

_That hurt more than Castiel cared to admit. “You don’t trust my fighting abilities, is that it? For your information, Dean, I’ve been a soldier for longer than this planet has existed.”_

_Dean groaned and rubbed a hand over his eyes. “Dammit, that’s not what I’m trying to say at all.”_

_“Then what_ are _you trying to say?”_

_Dean opened his mouth and then immediately closed it. There was a slightly nervous look in his eyes, but before Castiel could ask what was wrong, Dean took a hold of the lapels of his trench coat and pulled him into a kiss._

_Castiel felt as if his mind had shut down for a second, but he did kiss back almost immediately, putting all of the years of longing and unexpressed love into it. It was a little surprising to him how gentle Dean was being with him, putting a hand over the angel’s on the bed and slightly squeezing it as he continued kissing him._

_They separated after a few more seconds, both of them feeling out of breath even though only one actually needed to breathe, and then Dean was getting up, a look of barely controlled panic on his face as he quickly escaped and closed the door behind him._

_Castiel stared at the door, feeling absolutely crushed._

Castiel didn’t know why he’d expected Dean to react any differently. Maybe because Dean had initiated the kiss, but he should have known it had been too good to be true, anyway. Now Dean would no doubt pretend that nothing had happened between them. Castiel sighed sadly, and covered his face with his hands.

Suddenly there was a knock on his door, and Castiel jumped a little in surprise.

“Hey, Cas, can I come in?” asked Dean from behind the door. Castiel wasn’t sure which was stranger – the fact that Dean wanted to talk to him again, or that he hadn’t come in yet.

“Of course,” Castiel replied flatly, letting his hands fall into his lap. Maybe Dean wanted to tell him that the kiss had meant nothing, and that he shouldn’t read too much into it.

Dean went in and closed the door, standing by it awkwardly for a moment before finally speaking. “Uh, look, I’m sorry I ran away, I just needed some time to think- wait, have you not moved at all since we, uh…”

“No,” Castiel replied. “How long has it been?”

“An entire day, buddy.”

“…oh.” That was all Castiel managed to say because he honestly had no idea how to reply to that. He’d spent twenty-four hours thinking, and he hadn’t considered a scenario where Dean would come to talk to him about what had happened. Castiel wondered what Dean had to say, but he had a feeling he wouldn’t be too happy about it.

“Well, anyway, I just wanted to ask: are you sure you want this, Cas?” Dean gestured to himself and then to Castiel, who just stared at Dean with a frown.

“Yes, of course. I’ve been in love with you for years now.”

Dean choked on nothing and cleared his throat. “Y-yeah, me too.” Dean looked away from Castiel, trying to hide his reddening cheeks from the angel.

“When?” Castiel asked softly. He’d know Dean felt something for him, but he hadn’t thought it was this strong, and he definitely hadn’t thought Dean would ever admit it to himself.

“Purgatory,” Dean answered, sounding a little defeated as he looked back at Castiel. “I mean, I realized it then.”

“Why haven’t you ever said anything?” Castiel asked, completely stunned at this point.

“Why haven’t you?” Castiel had to admit that Dean had a point. The hunter had most likely been afraid to tell Castiel for the same reasons Castiel was afraid to tell Dean. “We’re a couple of dumbasses, aren’t we?”

Castiel huffed out a laugh at that and nodded in agreement. Dean sat down next to him again, putting a hand around the angel’s shoulders, and Castiel leaned into the hunter, trying very hard not to look at his lips.

“I can’t really promise much, but if you’d like to give us a shot…”

“Are you saying that you want us to be in a romantic relationship?”

Dean chuckled. “Yeah, Cas, exactly that. Just…this might take some getting used to.” Of course, Castiel was aware that his vessel was an issue.

“It would be difficult, but perhaps I could find a vessel more suited to your needs.”

Dean immediately held up a hand before Castiel could continue. “You don’t need to do that. You never need to do that. I don’t care what you look like. I just meant that I’m not good at relationships. And I’ve definitely never been in one with a dude. I’m just saying I’ll need some time to get used to it.”

Castiel wanted to remind Dean that he was a genderless being, but gave up on that idea almost immediately. It wouldn’t change the way Dean saw him anyway.

“I’ve waited for a long time. I can wait a little longer,” Castiel replied, smiling softly at Dean, who blushed a little again.

“R-right. Um...” Dean said, trying to think of something to say. “Oh, Sam found a case. People have been disappearing a lot in some town in Missouri. Wanna come with?”

“Always,” Castiel replied, knowing full well that it would make Dean blush again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may seem pretty hopeful, but don't worry, that won't last long


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam, Dean, and Cas go on a hunt and run into John.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason this chapter was much harder to type out than the previous one.

“So, what exactly do we know about the case?” asked Castiel from where he was sitting in the backseat. Dean had asked him not to tell Sam about the change in their relationship, and Castiel had no problem with that. If Dean wasn’t ready to tell his brother, Castiel wouldn’t push him. However, the angel found himself looking down at Dean’s hand whenever he touched the gearshift, wishing that Castiel could reach out and touch the hand, or even hold it.

He’d had thoughts like this before, of course, but now that he knew he could do it without being yelled at, or upsetting Dean, it was much harder to ignore.

“Three women and a man disappeared over the course of a week without a trace,” Sam told Castiel, staring at his tablet. “All of them own houses in the town, so I doubt they just left. Other than that, there’s really not much to say.”

“My money’s on djinn,” said Dean, making the Impala go even faster than it already was. Castiel noticed Sam give his brother a disapproving look, but he didn’t say anything. “Or some extra careful vampires.” Dean nodded to himself. “Wouldn’t mind ganking some vampires right now.”

Castiel lowered his eyes shamefully. Of course Dean wasn’t over his shortsighted decision concerning Gabriel’s grace, yet. Not that Castiel blamed him, but the angel did wish that Dean had a better way of dealing with his emotions.

“Well, there are a few warehouses on the edge of town that aren’t used anymore, so I guess it could be,” Sam said and put the tablet away. “We can check those out if we don’t find any clues. First we should talk to the witne-er, people close to the victims.”

“Or we could maybe skip that whole thing and just go check out the warehouses first,” Dean replied, clearly not in the mood to question people.

“Yeah, sure, and then get killed because it’s some monster we didn’t expect.”

“Ugh, fine,” Dean grumbled, slowing down as they entered the town. “But we’re gonna get something to eat first.”

Castiel smiled fondly as Sam rolled his eyes to hide his own smile. It never failed to improve Castiel’s mood, seeing the brothers interact like this – bickering, but with no actual malice behind it.

Soon enough they found a diner and, once Dean made sure they had pie, they walked in and sat down at the nearest available table. Castiel wasn’t really sure how far away from Dean he should sit. Honestly that had always been a question he’d never figured out the answer to, but once he sat down, Dean took matters into his own hands and moved closer to the angel.

Castiel gave him a small smile as discreetly as possible, which Dean returned, but they both stopped when they noticed Sam looking at them with a frown.

Dean cleared his throat. “So, who are interviewing?”

Sam blinked. “Uh, two of the victims lived alone, and I couldn’t find anything about more than that, so I guess we might as well ask the neighbors.” Sam shrugged, pausing for a moment to give Dean and Castiel time to suggest something, which they didn’t.

“And the other two?”

“Right. Uh, there’s the husband of one of the women, and sister of the man.”

“Okay, good, me and Cas’ll talk to those two. You can question the neighbors ‘cause that’s probably a waste of time.”

Sam shot Dean a bitchface, but before he could argue, a waitress came, asking if she could take their order. Castiel stiffened, watching Dean closely with a slowly growing sense of dread.

To no one’s surprise, the waitress tried to flirt with Dean, but what the angel did find shocking was that Dean didn’t flirt back. He just ignored everything she said that wasn’t food related, and Castiel immediately felt terrible for thinking that he wouldn’t.

Castiel was so stunned by all of this that he barely even noticed it was his turn to order, and only when Dean nudged him with his elbow did the angel manage to stammer out: “C-coffee, please.”

When the waitress left, both Dean and Sam gave Castiel a concerned look. “You okay there, buddy?”

“Uh, yes, of course,” he quickly replied, looking out the window. He really should have had more faith in Dean that this, but he supposed that maybe deep down, he didn’t actually believe Dean when he’d said the hunter said he loved Castiel. Well, he hadn’t actually said it, but this was Dean Winchester. Castiel could hardly believe Dean had admitted it – he couldn’t expect him to say it outright.

Thankfully, once the food came, the atmosphere had become much less awkward, and Castiel could instead appreciate how much joy Dean got out of a bacon cheeseburger. Maybe a little too much of it, actually, judging by Sam’s disgusted face. The angel made a mental note to check the hunter’s cholesterol levels later.

Castiel smiled as he listened to both of the brothers criticize each other’s eating habits and let his gaze drift outside the window again, drinking his coffee.

And then he almost choked on it.

“Sam, Dean,” he said, trying to get their attention while being unable to look away. Next to the Impala was none other than John Winchester, looking incredibly confused and disoriented, but it was definitely him.

“What the fuck?” Dean asked, his pie left forgotten on the table, and Castiel silently agreed. He couldn’t sense that there was something wrong with John, but maybe he just wasn’t close enough. As much as Castiel would like for Sam and Dean to have their father back, this was most likely anything but good news.

Dean didn’t waste any time, dashing out of diner, leaving Sam to pay for the food before running after his brother. Castiel quickly followed them, concerned that this was a trap, but it seemed the brothers had the situation under control. Well, as much as they could without drawing weapons because doing that would only attract attention.

“What are you?” Dean barked at John, sounding angry enough to make Castiel wince. The angel narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure out the answer to Dean’s question, but he wasn’t coming up with anything new.

“He’s human,” Castiel said to Dean, who looked at the angel doubtfully.

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

Castiel didn’t like the mistrustful look John shot his way, but a second later his expression turned into one about as happy as John Winchester could muster. Castiel hadn’t met the man, so he couldn’t be certain, but from what Dean had told him about his father, Castiel doubted John smiled a lot.

But now he was clearly genuinely happy to see his sons, and Castiel couldn’t keep up trying to be suspicious when seeing that.

“Look, boys, I can do the tests,” John said, putting his hands up. Sam and Dean exchanged a look. Then Sam walked to the trunk of the Impala, took out some holy water and a silver knife and went back to John. All four of them went into the alley behind the diner as to avoid being seen.

Without hesitation John cut his hand with the knife, wincing slightly before pouring some of the holy water onto the other side of the same hand.

Only after both of the tests proved that John was human did Sam and Dean’s demeanor changed.

“Dad?” Dean asked like he couldn’t believe John was here, which was fair enough. Castiel didn’t want to believe it either.

John nodded at Dean, and the other hugged his father tightly. While Dean seemed to be over the moon with joy, Sam still kept some of his skepticism if his frown was anything to go by. Still it was clear he was happy to see John as well when he hugged him.

Castiel felt slightly awkward watching them – like he was intruding, which he supposed he was – and took a few steps back to give them more privacy. He really didn’t have any business being here because, although Sam and Dean had called him their brother, Castiel had no connection to John.

Once they all finished hugging, the questions that were on everyone’s mind started being asked.

“Dad, how the hell are you here?” Sam said, shaking his head in disbelief. His tone was still skeptical, so he clearly thought there was a catch. Castiel thought so too, but he couldn’t be sure. Mary had been brought back without any price to pay. The fact that she’d had a hard time adjusting wasn’t Amara’s fault exactly.

Could the Darkness had brought John back as well? But she’d most likely tell that to Sam or Dean if that were the case.

“I’ve got no idea how I got here,” John admitted. “I just woke up maybe half an hour ago in an alley like this,” he said, gesturing to the space around them, “and I’ve been walking around town, trying to figure out what’s going on. Then I found the Impala and…yeah, that’s pretty much it.”

“So, you don’t remember anything else? No idea how you got here?” Sam asked, and Dean looked at him with annoyance.

“C’mon, Sam, Dad’s back. Don’t ruin it,” Dean hissed at his brother who looked at him incredulously.

“Don’t ruin-” Sam groaned. “Don’t you think this is a little odd?”

“We’ve died how many times now? What’s so weird about Dad getting resurrected, too?”

“We can figure this out later, Dean,” John said, although he seemed like he really didn’t believe Dean when he’d insinuated that both he and Sam had died multiple times. Dean nodded with a sigh, and then smiled at his father again.

“Welcome back, Dad.”

“It’s good to be back,” John replied, looking from Dean to Sam. “You’ve changed a lot. Especially you Sam.”

When was the last time John had seen his sons? A decade ago? It wasn’t exactly surprising that Sam and Dean had physically changed over so much time. Castiel was almost about to disappear, planning to stay away for at least a few hours so the brothers could catch up with their father, but then John’s voice stopped him.

“And who is that?”

“Oh, right, I totally forgot,” said Dean, walking over to Castiel and pushing him towards John. “Castiel, John Winchester. John Winchester, Castiel.”

“It’s, um, an honor to meet you,” said Castiel, trying to make it sound as sincere as possible, but failing miserably. John was looking at him with suspicion again, and Castiel didn’t like that look at all.

“How did you know I wasn’t a monster?”

Castiel felt his heart stop for a few beats, and his eyes widened. How was he supposed to answer that without revealing what he was to John? Somehow, Castiel doubted Dean wanted him to tell John he was an angel, but once again, Dean shocked him.

“He’s an angel,” said Dean for Castiel, who just stayed silent. It was probably for the best.

“There’s no such thing,” John said, and both Sam and Dean shook their heads.

“There is,” Sam assured him.

“Yeah, they’re dicks, but Cas is alright,” Dean joked, and Castiel tried his best to not roll his eyes. He sincerely hoped that Dean thought he was more than just ‘alright’. “He’s one of the good guys.”

John still seemed unconvinced, but he didn’t comment either. Something told Castiel that John Winchester wouldn’t be his biggest fan.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas makes a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, the angst hasn't really started yet. But I'm sure we'll get there.

Since the brothers were too preoccupied with explaining to their father what had happened in the last decade, Castiel decided to leave the motel room. It was clear his presence wasn’t needed (or wanted in John’s case), and honestly, he wanted to get away from John’s distrustful eyes.

The brothers didn’t seem to notice, but then again, they were just happy to have their father back. Castiel didn’t want to say or do anything to ruin their reunion, and if his presence could possibly be the cause of conflict… Well, that was about the last thing Castiel wanted.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel a little envious of Sam and Dean. When Castiel’s father had come back, He hadn’t even attempted to talk to Castiel. What had made that much worse was that Lucifer was possessing Castiel at that time, so Castiel had a front row seat to a conversation he desperately wanted to be a part of, but he couldn’t.

Castiel now felt even worse thinking about that, but he probably deserved it. At this point Castiel had pretty much done worse than Lucifer ever had, so why would He want to talk to the angel?

Anyway, Castiel decided that if he wanted to get John Winchester to like him, or at least tolerate him (which was the more likely option), the best thing to do was to go see if he could get some leads. However, Sam hadn’t actually told him anything about the people they were supposed to question, which either meant that Castiel would have to ask random people on the street, which didn’t seem like a fruitful endeavor, or go check out the abandoned warehouses at the edge of the town.

Seeing as his people skills still weren’t exactly ideal, Castiel decided the second option would be better, especially since he was more likely to survive an encounter with whatever monster could be hiding there than Sam and Dean.

With that in mind, he quickly looked up where the warehouses were on his phone and started walking east. He was only about fifteen minutes away, so he ignored everything around him and continued walking, only stopping once he reached the abandoned buildings.

Castiel frowned at the warehouses in front of him, noting the level of disrepair before coming closer. There didn’t seem to be anything suspicious about the buildings themselves, but that didn’t mean nothing evil was lurking inside.

Castiel let his angel blade fall into his hand and touched the door of the warehouse he was standing in front of. He wished there were a stealthier way of entering the building, but he could do very little about that since he couldn’t fly anymore. Before he could push the door open though, someone tapped on his shoulder.

Castiel immediately whirled around, grabbed the person by the arm and slammed them against the door, putting his angel blade to the stranger’s neck.

It was a man, around thirty-five, human as far as Castiel could tell, and clearly terrified. Castiel removed the blade and took a step back, but he didn’t let his guard down. The man had eerily familiar light brown hair and green eyes – so much so in fact that it was making Castiel feel a little uncomfortable.

“Apologies,” Castiel said, feeling a little embarrassed.

“No worries, man, I should have said something. I take it you’re a hunter?” the man asked, rubbing a hand over his neck. Castiel just stared at him, unsure how to answer the question, but it seemed his silence was answer enough. “Cool. You’re here about the disappearances, aren’t you? Me too.”

Castiel blinked. He found it hard keeping up with the man’s fast speech. “Y-yes. I thought it would be best to check here first.”

“Exactly why I’m here, too. Name’s Mark.” The man – Mark – extended his hand to Castiel, who shook it after a second or two of hesitation.

“C-Castiel,” he said before he could think about whether it was a good idea to say that. Mark’s eyebrows rose as he stared at the angel, a little stunned and very much impressed.

“Really? The angel?” Mark ended the handshake and pointed at Castiel’s angel blade. “I guess that explains where you got _that_. So the Winchesters are here, as well?”

“Yes,” Castiel replied simply. _There’s more of them than usual, though_ , he thought to himself.

“So, where are they? Did they send their angel to deal with this, so they don’t have to get their hands dirty?”

Even though it was clear Mark was just joking, Castiel still glared at him, clenching his fist around the blade. No one was going to insult Sam and Dean without Castiel doing something about it. Mark seemed to get the message, as he raised his arms a little in surrender.

“Just kidding. Sorry, was trying to diffuse the tension a little. Think I just did the opposite.” Mark scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, and Castiel sighed.

“Sam and Dean are…” _Think of something_. “…questioning the people close to the victims right now.”

Mark nodded. “Yeah, already did that. They don’t know anything useful.”

Castiel frowned at the man. At least he didn’t act like Dean, no matter how similar he looked.

“Anyway, wanna team up? If there is something here, we both could use backup. Or we could split up and cover more ground faster. What do you think? I know I’d prefer having a super powerful angel with me, but I’ll be fine with either.”

Castiel couldn’t tell if the man was trying to flatter him or not, but he did know that he was far from a ‘super powerful’ angel now. All the more reason why it was probably a good idea to stay together. Maybe he wouldn’t get yelled at by Dean this way. He hadn’t really thought about that, actually, but Dean hadn’t called him yet, so maybe he hadn’t even noticed Castiel had left.

Castiel hated how his heart clenched at that, but he pushed these thoughts aside. He had a task to complete.

“Staying together seems like the better option,” Castiel said, and Mark smiled at him, pulling out a strange looking knife. Noticing Castiel’s curious look, Mark grinned proudly.

“Nice, huh? Got it from a demon. Well, I took it after I killed ‘im. It can kill most monsters. Never caught its name. But it’s not as awesome as that blade of yours.”

Castiel narrowed his eyes as he once again tried to figure out if the man was just stating a fact or trying to flatter him.

“Anyway, let’s do this,” Mark said casually and opened the large metal door. Castiel expected for something to attack them right away, but nothing happened. The warehouse was completely silent and empty, save for some rubble.

“Well, I guess one down, two to go,” Mark said and walked out of the building. Castiel wanted to protest, but even he had to admit that they could see the entirety of the warehouse from just taking a peek inside, so he stayed silent and followed the hunter to the next building.

The next one was empty as well, but it wasn’t as obvious so they had to go through the whole place, but ultimately they came up with nothing. And then came the third warehouse.

At first it seemed like it would just be another dead end, but then the smell of rotting meat made its way into the angel’s nose. He followed it and found where it was emanating from once he climbed the rusting staircase on the right and opened the door leading to an office.

“Jesus,” said Mark, putting a hand over his mouth, either in shock or in an attempt to stop himself from vomiting. There were four bodies in various stages of decay, three women and a man, all with their throats slit. These were definitely the victims, but the cause of death confused Castiel. Neither djinn nor vampires would kill their victims like that, so what was it?

“I guess they’re not missing anymore,” Mark commented, as if that made this any better. “Maybe they were used for some sacrifice? By a demon or witch?”

Castiel sighed sadly and turned around. “I need to tell Sam and Dean about this.”

“Yeah, sure, together we have a better chance figuring this out.”

Castiel quickly tried to come up with a reason why Mark shouldn’t go with him, but it seemed the man wasn’t even interested in that. “In the meantime, I’ll try to get some info from the locals. My car’s just a bit away from here, I could give you a lift to wherever you’re staying if you want.”

Castiel nodded wordlessly. He just hoped the brothers had had enough time to talk to their father before he came back.

“Oh, and give me your hand,” Mark said, and Castiel complied, but not without giving Mark a confused look. The man took a black marker out of one of the pockets of his jacket and started writing on Castiel’s palm. “My number, in case you want to contact me.”

When he saw Mark add a little wink to what he’d just said, Castiel became sure the man was flirting with him, but the angel didn’t want to make things more awkward, so he just stayed silent, waiting for the hunter to finish writing the number, and then putting the hand into his coat pocket.

If Mark continued with this Castiel would just tell him he was with Dean now. Hopefully that would be enough to discourage him. Mark seemed like a decent person, so it should be.

There wasn’t much said on the way back, especially since it took only a couple minutes, and before Castiel knew it, he was standing in front of the motel again. He took a deep breath before knocking on the Winchesters’ motel room door. When it swung open, revealing Dean, Castiel’s heart immediately felt a bit lighter.

“Jesus Cas, where were you? I was starting to get worried,” Dean asked, but there was no anger behind his words. He closed the door behind him, and hugged Castiel briefly.

“I was, um, I went to the warehouses,” Castiel admitted, and Dean’s eyes widened.

“What?” he exclaimed. “Alone?”

“Initially, yes,” Castiel replied, and the hunter scowled.

“The hell does that mean?”

“I ran into a hunter working the same case,” Castiel explained. Dean didn’t seem as worried now, but he didn’t look happy either. “We found the victims,” Castiel added grimly.

“So they’re dead.”

Castiel hummed sadly. “Their throats were slit.”

“Wait, what?” Dean backtracked. “That’s weird.”

Castiel nodded in agreement and looked away.

“What’s up, Cas?”

“I’m just…I’m starting to think maybe this isn’t monster related.”

“You think some psycho’s doing this?” Dean eloquently translated. “I dunno, buddy, I don’t think a human could kill so many in such a short amount of time in a town as small as this without being seen by someone, y’know?”

Castiel shrugged. He supposed Dean had a point, however that didn’t bring them any closer to solving this. They couldn’t let more people die. But if this had nothing to do with the supernatural, they didn’t really have the jurisdiction to handle this.

“Um, as long as we’re alone,” Dean started, letting out a tired breath, “with Dad back…If you could pretend like we didn’t have a life changing conversation earlier today…I’m just not ready to tell him I’m dating an angel. I don’t think he’ll take it well. Hell, I know he won’t. I know I already told you the same thing about Sam, but we haven’t really tried to pretend that hard when it came to him.”

Castiel nodded glumly. He’d been expecting this, but that didn’t make it less disappointing. Still, he would respect Dean’s wishes. He owed him that much.

“Of course, Dean.”

Noticing Castiel’s sadness, Dean cupped his chin and kissed him gently. The kiss didn’t last nearly as long as Castiel would have liked, but it had improved his mood nonetheless.

“Okay, let’s go finish this hunt. The sooner we get back home, the better.”

Castiel wholeheartedly agreed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John and Cas team up. It goes about as well as you'd think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The angst, it begins...

When they went into the motel room, Dean summed up what Castiel had found out, and John, Sam, and Dean started planning what to do next while changing into their FBI suits. Castiel wasn’t listening, though.

Every so often, John would look at him with so much hostility that it made Castiel want to run away, which was ridiculous. He was an _angel_. John was only a human – Castiel shouldn’t be feeling like this. Then again, any kind of threat Castiel could make towards the man, he wouldn’t be able to follow through with because this was Sam and Dean’s father. Castiel couldn’t hurt him, and he couldn’t just leave either, so all he could do was try to avoid making direct eye contact with John.

“Angels don’t sleep, right?” John said, bringing Castiel out of his thoughts. The man wasn’t even addressing him, but that was probably for the best. “We know where the monster hides the bodies. We could send Castiel there and have him wait for the monster to arrive.”

Castiel didn’t overly like the way he was being referred to - like he was just a tool for John to use, but what was John implying was much worse. “That would mean another person dying.”

John turned his head to look at the angel angrily. “Do you have a better idea?”

“We still haven’t asked the witnesses,” Dean said quickly in an effort to stop a fight between John and Castiel.

“Mark said that they know nothing,” Castiel told Dean, who seemed annoyed by the mere mention of the other hunter’s name.

“Yeah? Well, I’ll be the judge of that,” Dean shot back, and Castiel frowned in thought. Was Dean jealous? He sounded like it. Castiel wasn’t sure how he felt about that. On one hand he was glad to see that Dean cared enough to get upset, but on the other, Castiel didn’t want to make Dean upset. Ever.

Although, he failed quite often in that regard.

“Okay, you and Sam go talk to the sister, I’ll take the angel and go see the widower,” John said, and Castiel froze, staring at the man with a mix of horror and surprise. Why would John want to work with Castiel? It was obvious the man didn’t like him, and Castiel definitely didn’t want to be alone with John.

However, looking at Dean, the hunter seemed to be relieved that John wanted to team up with Castiel, so the angel would just have to go along with it. Seeing Dean happy was rare enough as it was, so if Castiel had to put up with his father, he’d do it.

“Okay, great, let’s go, then,” Dean said, smiling at Castiel who couldn’t resist smiling back, and walked out the motel room. Sam gave Castiel a concerned look before following Dean, which made Castiel a little confused. Perhaps Sam had put together that he and John wouldn’t get along well.

Castiel took a few steps outside, nodding at Sam and Dean as they climbed into the Impala and left. He supposed they didn’t really need the car, but the sister lived on the other side of town, and it would save time. The only problem was that it meant Castiel would have to spend more time with John since they would have to walk.

Speaking of John, the man was currently giving him a look that assured Castiel that John had been holding back his disdain for the angel while his sons were in the room.

“Now, listen here, halo,” he growled, raising his index finger. Castiel resisted taking a step back and glared at the man. “I don’t know what you did to my boys to make them keep you around, or why you did it, but don’t think I’ll let this continue.”

Castiel’s glare disappeared, replaced by bewilderment. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. You put some kind of spell on Sam and Dean. Why else would they hang around with a monster?”

Castiel’s expression darkened. He couldn’t believe John was accusing Castiel of manipulating the brothers’ minds like this. No matter what happened, he would never do that.

“They ‘hang around with me’” Castiel snarled, using air quotes, “because they are my friends.” He let his eyes glow with his grace, which seemed to intimidate John somewhat, but the man wasn’t backing down so easily.

“Somehow I don’t believe that,” John said, taking a step towards the angel. “Y’see, they told me what you’ve done.” Another step forward. “How you betrayed them and hurt them. I mean, they tried to make excuses for your actions, but I know better. The moment you appeared, their lives got so much worse. And the longer you stayed, the worse it got.”

As John continued advancing on him, Castiel backed away, hitting the wall of the motel with his back. He hated thinking about this, but he knew John was right. It hadn’t started with just Castiel, but the angel knew that he was the reason for a lot of the problems the Winchesters had had to deal with. The problems the Winchesters were still dealing with.

“You’re the reason why my wife is trapped in an alternative universe!” John barked at him, and fisted his hands in Castiel’s coat. Castiel wanted to push him away, but the hunter gave him a warning look. “Do something I don’t like, and I’ll make sure Sam and Dean will never want to see you again. Maybe I’ll tell them you attacked me. Who are they more likely to believe, anyway? Their father, or some monster?”

Castiel desperately wanted to say that they would never believe the angel attacked John, but a small voice in the back of his mind asked: _Or would they?_

This was Sam and Dean’s father, after all. And besides, if John wanted to beat him up, Castiel wasn’t sure he’d fight him anyway. He certainly deserved it. If he hadn’t let Lucifer possess him, Mary would still be here.

“Stay away from Sam and Dean. Especially Dean. Whatever you spell you put on them, Dean’s affected by it more.”

Castiel looked at John with disbelief. How could he stay away from Sam and Dean? They were the only ones who loved him. The only friends and family he had left. “But…they’re my family.”

John snorted and shook his head. “They’re _my_ family. That’s why you made them like you, isn’t it? You were _lonely_.”

Castiel flinched at how mocking John made the word sound. “Pathetic.”

The angel couldn’t bring himself to deny that, as he blinked away tears.

“Well, if you’re so desperate for company, make yourself useful, stay silent, and maybe I’ll let you stay.”

With that John finally let go of Castiel’s coat and started walking away towards the victim’s husband’s house. Castiel took a few seconds to collect himself before he shakily started following him.

He didn’t want to believe that John had that much of an influence over his sons to make them cut ties with Castiel, but he didn’t want to risk it either. Again, he reminded to himself how happy it made Dean that his father was back. He didn’t want to do anything to mess that up, so Castiel would just have to ‘make himself useful’ to John.

He’d really grown to hate that phrase.

Castiel did what he had been told and stayed silent as they walked to the house. Once there, John managed to surprise Castiel once again.

“Stay here,” he ordered. Castiel wanted to protest, but then he stopped himself and nodded instead. Satisfied with the reaction, John walked up to the house, and Castiel turned around, looking down at the sidewalk.

He wasn’t sure he understood John’s reasoning behind dragging him here with him if Castiel couldn’t take part in the questioning itself, but at least he wouldn’t have to be in the man’s presence for a while.

Feeling bored after a few minutes, he started watching a bird fly from one tree to the next, chirping happily. Castiel’s own skeletal wings ached at the sight. It seemed nothing was going to make him feel better today. He needed a hug, but with John around, Castiel wasn’t going to get one any time soon, so he hugged himself instead. For some reason he felt cold now.

At least the street was mostly empty, so there was no one here to watch his emotional turmoil. Almost no one.

“Yo!” called out a cheerful voice, and Castiel looked up. Mark had apparently been in the area, Castiel noted passively as he watched the hunter make his way towards him. The angel put his hands in his coat pockets. “Man, you look like someone just eviscerated your puppy.”

That was a mental image Castiel could have gone without. “Hello. Have you made any progress?”

“Nah, it’s like nobody knows anything. But they sure are getting scared.” Mark shook his head. “But nevermind that, what’s up with you?” Mark put a hand on Castiel shoulder. The angel flinched a little, but didn’t take a step back or shake the hand off because the contact was at least a little comforting.

“Did you have a fight with Dean?” Mark teased, taking his hand off the angel’s shoulder, and Castiel sighed. Compared to what the actual problem was, he’d prefer a fight with Dean. At least he was used to those. “C’mon, you can vent. You look like you need it.”

Castiel supposed there was no harm in it, but he wouldn’t give Mark the details either. “Sam and Dean’s father…came back recently.”

Mark blinked, raised an eyebrow, and then huffed out a laugh. “Those Winchesters. Let me guess – he’s not happy that his sons adopted an angel into the family.”

Castiel gaped at the man. How could he had guessed that? Well, Castiel supposed it wasn’t impossible, but it still seemed Mark’s intuition was a little too good.

“Oh, I guessed right, then?” Mark said and patted Castiel’s shoulder again. “There, there. I’m sure he’ll get used to the idea sooner or later. I mean, you didn’t get along that great with Sam and Dean when you met them, right?”

Well, that was true, but the brothers hadn’t threatened him with exile from Heaven if he didn’t help them. Although, he had been exiled from Heaven because of his decision to help Dean. Not that Castiel regretted it – he never would regret that.

“Now, could you show me some angel trick? You guys have lots of abilities, don’t you? I mean if you don’t mind…”

Castiel wanted to say no, but Mark seemed so excited to see Castiel use his grace, he begrudgingly agreed. However, the hunter didn’t seem to have any injuries Castiel could heal, so he would have to show the man something else.

Castiel suddenly heard the bird from before again and shrugged internally. The angel reached out with both his arm and grace, willing the bird to come to him, which it did almost immediately, landing gracefully on the palm of his hand. Castiel smiled at the bird slightly as it tilted its head at him and chirped, and he stroked its head carefully.

Mark in the meantime laughed, clearly impressed. “Awesome, you, like, totally mind controlled that bird.”

Castiel gasped, looking at the bird with horror. The bird quickly flew away, frightened by the sudden change of emotions.

 _“You put some kind of spell on Sam and Dean. Why else would they hang around with a monster?”_ the words of John Winchester echoed in Castiel’s mind.

“Hey, Cas, you okay?” asked Mark, reaching out to touch the angel, but Castiel moved away immediately.

“Yes, I-I’m fine. I just need to be alone for a while,” Castiel replied quietly, putting his hands back into his pockets. Mark opened his mouth to protest, but Castiel spoke first. “Please.”

“Okay. But feel free to call me if you need to talk to someone, okay?”

Castiel nodded, and Mark left, albeit hesitantly. Once Castiel was sure the hunter was gone, he leaned on the wall of a nearby house and let out a shuddering breath, hiding his face in his hands.

The bird hadn’t wanted anything to do with Castiel, but he’d made it come to him. He knew he’d never do anything like this to Sam and Dean, or anyone for that matter, on purpose, but what if he’d done it subconsciously? It would certainly explain why the brothers kept forgiving him for his mistakes.

Then even a worse thought made its way into Castiel’s mind. What if Dean’s feeling for the angel weren’t real? What if Castiel had made Dean feel them?

But the only way to be sure would be to look into Dean’s mind, and Castiel couldn’t breach the hunter’s privacy like that, unless he had Dean’s permission. Which he was too afraid to ask for now after what John had threatened to do.

Castiel couldn’t believe he’d been happy just this morning, it felt like such a long time ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea if in canon angels have the ability to manipulate minds, but, eh. *shrugs*


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go from very bad to even worse. (yes, that is a reference to the title)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll admit I thoroughly enjoyed writing this chapter. Probably my favorite chapter so far in this fic, so I hope you like it :)

The evening wasn’t much better either. John had told him to go watch the warehouse, which Castiel didn’t mind because at least he was away from the man, but he was also away from everyone else, and he couldn’t deny that he was feeling lonely.

John was right – he _was_ pathetic. It hadn’t even been a day, and Castiel could barely take it. Usually when he was on his own, at least he could always text or call Dean or Sam, but now he couldn’t do that, and that had more of an effect on him than he’d thought it would.

Feeling worse and worse with each passing second, Castiel glanced at the number still written on his hand. Mark had offered to listen if he needed to talk, maybe Castiel _should_ call him. He didn’t want to impose, but he also remembered that talking to the hunter had made him feel a little better. Well, until the thing with the bird…but that was hardly Mark’s fault.

The flirting made Castiel the tiniest bit uncomfortable, but he was sure if he told Mark to stop, he’d back off, so after a few more seconds of hesitation, Castiel dialed the number and waited for the hunter to pick up with closed eyes.

“ _Castiel? Is that you?_ ” Mark’s voice asked, sounding as positive as ever, stunning Castiel once again with his intuition.

“Y-yes,” the angel replied, clearing his throat. “I, um, was wondering if you wouldn’t mind, uh, helping me watch the warehouse.”

“Sure, I’ll be right over,” Mark said, but his tone had changed slightly. It almost seemed like he was pitying Castiel. Unfortunately, the hunter ended the call before Castiel could say anything else. Maybe Mark had seen through the request and put together just why the angel wanted him to come, but Castiel hated being pitied.

Hugging himself with what remained of his wings, Castiel continued staring at the rundown building in front of him as he waited. Indeed, a few minutes later a car appeared, stopping just a few feet next to Castiel, who turned towards it.

Mark got out, looking at Castiel with a slightly sad smile and walking to him.

“You know, you don’t have to make up an excuse if you just want some company,” Mark said, and Castiel’s eyes widened.

“How would you know-”

“It’s totally obvious, man,” Mark said, pulling Castiel into a hug, which surprised the angel enough that he barely managed to respond before Mark let him go. “There. Feeling better?”

“Y-yes,” Castiel muttered because it was the truth, but he also couldn’t keep himself from looking away in embarrassment. He didn’t like showing weakness, especially to strangers.

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong about needing a hug from time to time,” Mark joked, smiling at Castiel widely.

“I’m an angel. I shouldn’t need anything like this,” Castiel replied, letting his shoulders slump.

“No offense, Cas, but from what I’ve heard, you don’t act like most angels do.”

Wasn’t that the truth?

“Okay, c’mon, I’m taking you to a bar.”

Castiel frowned. “But I’m supposed to watch-”

“Screw that. It’s not like the monster will show up, anyway. There’s no way it doesn’t know that there are five people hunting it by now.”

Castiel sighed with defeat. “Alcohol doesn’t do much for me,” he said, but followed Mark to his car anyway.

“Yeah, but the social aspect might help,” Mark replied. It only took a few minutes to reach the bar, which was probably the only place like that in town, but it looked quite nice, so Castiel wasn’t complaining.

And at first, it actually did make Castiel feel better. Mark had ordered them both a beer, and they engaged in small talk, which was surprisingly easy and pleasant.

“So, you and Dean are an item now? Sorry for hitting on you, dude,” Mark said, clearly embarrassed, but when Castiel smiled slightly, the hunter grinned again.

“It’s very…recent.”

“Wait, that’s why you’re so depressed. Dean’s pretending you two aren’t together so he doesn’t piss off his dad.”

Castiel shrugged. “John Winchester barely tolerates my presence. I don’t fault Dean for hiding our relationship from him. I-”

And then Castiel quickly went back to the edge of depression.

The Winchesters were here, although they hadn’t noticed Castiel yet. Dean and John looked happy while Sam was obviously only pretending to be. Castiel wondered what had happened to ruin Sam’s mood, but knowing that Castiel’s presence would only make things worse, he couldn’t come to their table and try to console his friend.

“Oh, man, I’m sorry, Cas,” Mark said, noticing what was bothering the angel. Castiel shook his head to tell Mark that it didn’t matter and looked at his phone. He would have thought that Dean would have at least sent him a text to tell him what they were doing, but there was nothing.

Castiel risked another glace at Dean, and he felt his stomach knot itself as he watched a woman approach the table. What she said Castiel couldn’t make out, but it didn’t matter – she was clearly flirting with Dean.

And then something much worse happened – Dean smirked and flirted back, adding in a wink for good measure, and Castiel felt like he was going to be sick. He quickly looked away, trying to pretend he hadn’t just seen that.

“Wow,” Mark said, his voice angry. “There’s keeping a relationship a secret, and then there’s stabbing your boyfriend in the back.”

Castiel swallowed, looking miserably into his beer. “Dean’s just making sure John doesn’t suspect anything.” Even to him this sounded unconvincing.

Mark stayed silent for a moment before slamming a ten-dollar bill on the counter and gently taking a hold of Castiel’s elbow. “C’mon.”

The angel didn’t have enough energy to resist, so he just let himself be led out of the bar, his head hung low.

“I’m sorry,” Mark said.

Castiel wanted to assure him that this wasn’t his fault when he felt a metal cuff tighten itself around his left wrist, and then his right a second later, binding his hands behind his back and locking down his grace, and before he knew it, Mark’s arm was choking him.

Castiel gasped and struggled, but Mark was apparently much stronger than he seemed. “Shh…”

Black spots started dancing in Castiel’s vision, and he tried to cry out, but Mark put a hand over his mouth.

Castiel knew he wouldn’t die – this would most likely just cause him to lose consciousness, but he didn’t want that to happen either. He trashed against the man’s hold as much as he could, but he was getting slower and weaker with every second.

Why was Mark doing this? _How_ was Mark doing this? Even with his grace diminished by the handcuffs, he should still be able to at least put up a fight.

“I’ll fix everything,” Mark whispered into his ear, and Castiel finally blacked out.

When Castiel woke up, he quickly found out he was gagged with a strip of cloth tied around his head and cuffed to an incredibly comfortable chair. All around him were piles of gold and gems, paintings and statues – anything expensive really. It was making the room shine brightly enough that it was making Castiel’s head spin.

Or maybe that was an aftereffect of his kidnapping. Castiel blinked. Right, he’d been kidnapped. By Mark of all people. Castiel hung his head. He should know by now that if someone was interested in him, it was probably a trap.

“I’m sorry for putting you here, but I do all my magic in the basement. Doesn’t attract as much attention,” said Mark as he walked into the room, except he didn’t look like Mark anymore. He had horns, sharp teeth, clusters of red scales on his face, claws, huge bat wings-

“That’s right, I’m not exactly as human as I said I was. But hey, my name _is_ Mark-er, Marketh, but close enough,” Mark said, smiling a bit sadly at Castiel, who was still trying to process this. Mark was a dragon. How could he had missed that? He should have been able to sense it. “I’ve been consuming souls for decades, and I’ve been using magic for even longer than that. I’m powerful enough to make my disguise pretty much perfect. I only let parts of the real me show when I’m home, but I haven’t fully shifted in over a century.”

Castiel frowned. But why was Mark – Marketh – pretending to help them hunt?

Castiel’s eyes widened in realization a second later. Marketh _was_ the monster they’d been hunting. He’d killed those people, but why? Had he consumed their souls as well?

“I needed to get you to come here. This isn’t the first time I’d killed a few people just to get your attention, but it hasn’t worked until now,” Marketh said excitedly, and then his smile dissipated slowly. “And that’s pretty much the only part of my plan that worked out. See, I knew bringing back John Winchester would cause problems.”

Mark was the one who did that? How powerful was he exactly? Castiel hated to admit it, but despite the dragon’s upbeat personality, the angel was starting to feel afraid of what Marketh wanted to do with him.

“But at the time I didn’t know that Dean and you got together. I assumed you’d think you’d never have a chance with him, and then I’d swoop in and take you for my own. I mean, it’s not a coincidence I picked a face that looked a lot like good old Dean. But, yeah, that didn’t work.”

Castiel glared at the dragon, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t very much confused by all of this. Was Mark saying that this entire hunt, John returning, four people dying – all of this happened just because the dragon wanted Castiel as his mate? That was insane.

“Until I took you to that bar, I was still kind of planning on trying to seduce you, but after hearing you defend Dean for…” Marketh paused, letting out an angry breath. “I realized that you’ll never be over him. So, I came up with a new plan. I’ll take on Dean’s face and his _amazing_ personality, and cast a love spell on you. And something to make you think I’m actually Dean. That way, you get to be with a Dean who actually deserves you, and I’ll get you. Everybody wins.”

Even if he didn’t have a gag in his mouth, Castiel wouldn’t know what to say to that. Of course he didn’t want this, but tied up like this, he couldn’t really do much about the situation. However, he couldn’t say this would be the worst thing to happen to him. It was selfish, but he was certain that it wouldn’t be unpleasant.

Still, Castiel shook his head. Mark had been a very nice person up to the kidnapping. Maybe he could reason with him. Marketh frowned in response, and walked closer to Castiel, stroking his hair gently, somehow managing not to cut him with his claws.

Suddenly, instead of Marketh’s yellow eyes, he was looking into the all too familiar green of Dean Winchester, and Castiel let out a little muffled sob.

“What’s the matter, Cas?” Marketh asked soothingly, using Dean’s voice. “Are you scared to let yourself be happy?”

Castiel shook his head, trying not to accept the illusion. Dean- no, Marketh, gently untied the gag and took it out of the angel’s mouth, throwing it away carelessly.

“Why are you resisting? I’ll treasure you, appreciate you. I’ll be faithful to you for eternity. You’ll be my most prized possession.”

Castiel bristled at that, glaring at the dragon. “I’m not something you can own.”

“Oh, Cas,” Marketh said pityingly, shaking his head slightly. “Of course you are. Everyone you’ve ever known has treated you like an object they owned – a weapon. Angels just aren’t meant to function on their own. You’re born to follow, to be used and be useful. You’re unhappy because you keep thinking that it’s not the same for you, but it is. Just look at how you let the Winchesters use you over and over.”

Castiel shut his eyes at the onslaught of tears that were threatening to spill out of his eyes.

“Just submit to me, and you’ll be happy. You won’t have to worry about Sam and Dean’s problems anymore.”

“B-but I’m the reason behind most of them,” Castiel protested weakly, and Dean- _Marketh_ cupped a hand around the right side of his face. Castiel hated himself for leaning into the touch.

“Look far enough, and you’ll see that a Winchester started the chain of events. You need to realize than not everything is your fault.”

When Marketh’s lips touched Castiel’s, the angel flinched a little, but he couldn’t force himself to put an end to it. Marketh copied Dean’s way of kissing perfectly, making the angel give up his struggles and get lost in the moment.

When they separated, Castiel actually whined at the loss of contact, and Marketh stroked a hand through his hair again. “See, you like this. I don’t want to use magic to manipulate you any more than you do.”

Castiel breathed in deeply and swallowed. “I can’t run away from my problems. And my heart belongs to Dean Winchester. The _real_ Dean Winchester. And it always will.”

Surprisingly, Marketh didn’t look angry with him, just sad and regretful. “Then I’m sorry, Castiel. I guess I’ll have to take your heart by force.”

And then the dragon’s eyes glowed as he started casting a spell, muttering words that Castiel couldn’t even understand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty good twist, right?....Right?...No? *looks down shamefully* Okay.  
> Also, I realize that I totally ignored everything about Supernatural's canonical dragons, but they only appeared in season 6, and they were pretty underwhelming.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas is brainwashed, but rescued.

Castiel must have lost consciousness again because now he was lying on a bed.

Wait, when had he lost consciousness the first time? He couldn’t remember…well, anything recent. His mind felt muddled somehow, and he had a headache, which was sadly not uncommon for him these days.

He sat up and noticed that his coat, suit jacket, and shoes were missing, but he quickly spotted the clothes neatly folded on the bedside table next to him, and the shoes on the ground in front of it.

Before Castiel could start questioning where he was, and why he was here, the door swung open, revealing Dean, and Castiel felt a sense of relief and happiness wash over him. He immediately stopped thinking about everything and only focused on Dean, smiling up at him.

Dean grinned back and sat down next to the angel, taking Castiel’s hand into his own. “Hi, sweetheart.”

“Hello, Dean,” Castiel replied, only then noticing that there were cuts on Dean’s face, and it seemed his shoulder was injured as well, judging by how he was holding it. “You’re hurt.”

“Uh, yeah, we’ve had some uninvited guests while you were out. Had to move us because of it.”

“Oh.” Castiel supposed that made sense. “Well, I could heal-”

Castiel froze as he tried to reach his grace, but he couldn’t. Something was keeping it locked away, something around his neck… Castiel reached for it, his fingers coming in contact with a very thin metal collar. It wasn’t tight or heavy, but there also didn’t seem to be a way to remove it. It was just a circular piece of metal without any breaks.

“Sorry ‘bout that, baby, but the monsters that attacked us before are tracking your grace. I don’t want you using it even accidently. You’d just feel guilty for calling them here,” Dean said soothingly and put an arm around Castiel’s waist, pulling him closer to him. Castiel didn’t resist, smiling at Dean again, if feeling slightly disappointed that he couldn’t heal the hunter.

“Besides, now everyone can see who you belong to,” Dean whispered into his ear and started kissing Castiel’s neck, making the angel moan softly. He very much liked the idea of belonging to Dean, so why had his heart filled with such dread when he’d heard him say it?

“Tell me, who do you belong to?”

“You,” Castiel replied, not even thinking about it, and Dean kissed Castiel’s cheek.

“That’s right, angel, now show me your wings.”

Castiel choked, looking at Dean with alarm. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the man, but his wings weren’t something he wanted Dean to see. “But they’re-”

“Just do what I say,” Dean said firmly, but it was clear he wasn’t angry with the angel. Then it was as if something clicked in Castiel’s mind, and he quickly took off his shirt. He couldn’t defy Dean, of course – why had he even tried to do it?

Castiel summoned the little strength he had and summoned his wings forth, shutting his eyes and gritting his teeth at the onslaught of pain that came with having them in the physical realm.

“Ugly,” Castiel finished the sentence from before. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Cas. I’ll fix it,” Dean whispered to him before gripping both of his wings. Castiel gasped as he felt the wing bones straightening themselves, and the flesh knitting itself together, and he stared in shock as new feathers started replacing whatever was left of the old ones. The most incredible part of it was that they were white. Well, mostly – there were a few black feathers remaining, but still.

Castiel hadn’t had white wings since he’d been sent to rescue Dean from hell, so seeing them in their original form was amazing. He still wouldn’t be able to fly since this was just fixing the physical form of the wings, but for the first time in years, his wings didn’t ache, and that was all that mattered really.

“H-how…?”

“Don’t question me, Cas,” Dean said, a threat right under the surface, and Castiel looked down, feeling ashamed.

“Of course, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…Thank you so much for fixing my wings,” Castiel blurted out, and Dean chuckled, hugging the angel, who did the same, wrapping his now pristine wings around Dean.

“They’re beautiful,” Dean said, his voice full of awe, running his hand through the feathers. “Keep them like this for me?”

“You mean, on this plane? But I’ll knock things over.”

Dean laughed a little. “Don’t worry, I don’t think that will be a problem.” Castiel had no idea what Dean meant by that, but he didn’t ask. He wouldn’t question Dean again.

“Now, I have an errand to run,” Dean said, pulling away from Castiel and getting up. “I should be back soon, stay put in the meantime.”

Castiel nodded, looking at Dean adoringly as the hunter left the room. He wasn’t sure if staying put meant he shouldn’t move at all or not, but he felt tired for some reason, so he lied down, wrapping his wings around himself.

He woke up to someone shaking his shoulder, and Castiel blinked up owlishly at Dean, yawning.

“Hello, Dean,” the angel said, grinning at the worried, shocked, angry-looking hunter.

“Cas, c’mon, buddy, we need to go,” Dean said quickly, pulling Castiel to his feet. The angel wanted to ask why and where, but he knew better, so he just followed. “And hide the wings. Can you do that?”

Castiel was taken aback by the tone Dean had used, and maybe even a little hurt, but did as he was told. Dean quickly grabbed Castiel’s clothes and walked out of the room and then out of the house, Castiel following behind him, a worried frown on his face.

He hoped Dean wasn’t in trouble. And had he changed his clothes while he was gone?

Soon enough, they reached the Impala where Sam was waiting for them- wait, how had he forgotten about Sam until now? Castiel blinked dazedly at the younger brother as pain stabbed through his head.

“You okay, Cas?” asked Dean, and Castiel smiled at him.

“Of course, Dean.”

“What the hell did that son of a bitch do to you?” Dean muttered, mostly to himself, and Castiel tilted his head in confusion. “Just get in the car.”

Castiel nodded and did so, taking his clothes from Dean and smiling at him again when the man looked back at him. As soon as they were on their way to…Castiel had no idea, Dean turned back to him again.

“Why didn’t you escape? The door was unlocked.”

Castiel frowned. “You told me to stay where I was. Why would I leave?”

Apparently this was the wrong thing to say because Dean looked angry now. “That wasn’t me. It was your buddy Mark.”

It took a moment for Castiel’s mind to figure out who Mark was, but once it did, Castiel couldn’t stop himself from crying out as his migraine got much, much worse. He remembered the hunt now, but the angel couldn’t seem to put all of the pieces together. He couldn’t figure out what had happened when, and trying to make sense of all of it only made his head hurt more.

“Maybe we shouldn’t force the truth, Dean,” Castiel heard Sam say, but he could barely understand the words.

“Y-your father came back,” Castiel forced out.

The brothers shared a look before Sam turned to Castiel. “That’s right.”

“Marketh resurrected him.” The clearer the detail became, the less Castiel’s head hurt and the more he could think straight. “To make me upset. To make me trust him.”

“Dad’s gone again. He kinda disappeared into thin air shortly after we noticed you were missing,” Sam explained, sounding both sad and sympathetic.

“We’ll fix this, Cas. We’ll get that collar off you, and we’ll get rid of whatever spell he put on you. Don’t worry,” Dean promised.

Castiel didn’t know if he wanted that, but he stayed silent, only nodding. He wouldn’t question Dean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the anticlimax, but honestly I didn't know how to end this. Also, sorry about not making the John returning portion of this the focus of the fic, but it's been out of my control since chapter 3.
> 
> Maybe there will be a sequel to this? Who knows :D


End file.
